Iron Man 2 Moves On Without Emily Blunt

Iron Man 2 was shaping up to be quite the sequel. Then word started getting out that all of the names attached to the movie that were getting us so excited weren’t necessarily fully attached. Samuel L. Jackson is back out, as is original Jim Rhodes, Terrence Howard and Mickey Rourke (although you have to wonder if that’ll change with last night’s Oscar loss). Add another name to that list that had been previously rumored - Emily Blunt won’t be a part of this sequel.

The actress, originally slated to play Russian double-spy Black Widow, was rumored to be contractually obligated to play in Fox’s Gulliver’s Travels a few weeks ago. Then other names started flying to play Black Widow and we got worried. Well, last night on the Oscar red carpet, director Jon Favreau confirmed that Blunt is out because of Fox exercising a contract option left over from Blunt’s commitment to The Devil Wears Prada, much to his disappointment.

The news comes online by way of The Playlist, who points out that Favreau didn’t confirm anyone else for the role, which means that Scarlett Johansson rumor has now strength to it, at least for now. Still, it’s disappointing to get that confirmation that Blunt is out. While I can see other people in the role, I was interested in seeing what she’d bring to the part.